Highways bosses reschedule Essex A12 junction closure after traffic chaos on first weekend
National Highways has been forced to rethink a road closure after cars were delayed for over an hour in its first weekend.
The A12 northbound in Essex was closed last weekend at the Marks Tey junction (J25) as part of a multi-million-pound project to remove and replace the concrete road surface.
Motorists were diverted off the junction 25 exit slip road to rejoin via the junction's entry slip road, but long queues quickly formed.
As a result, National Highways has had to cancel the upcoming weekend's closure to rethink when the work can be implemented.
Karl Brooks, of National Highways, said the body had "carefully" planned the closure to "minimise delays", but apologised for the congestion.
"We work extremely hard to minimise any disruption as a result of our work and when things haven't gone to plan we will analyse and evaluate our approach until we are satisfied we have solutions in place ahead of any further closures", he said.
"We've all been stuck in traffic and it's no fun at all - particularly on a hot and humid weekend.
"The reason we plan our work at weekends and overnight - when traffic is at its lightest - is to limit disruption.
"We are working hard to improve the A12, and we will find a way of achieving this without impacting road users to the extent they were inconvenienced last weekend."
The next weekend closure of junction 25 is set for 14 July to 17 July, with a further four weekends scheduled for closures at the junction across the summer.
National Highways did not say if the cancellation would impact the completion date of the £37m project - which is currently set for spring next year.
The old concrete road surface is being completely removed to be reconstructed and resurfaced with asphalt.
National Highways said it would result in smoother and quieter journeys for road users.
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